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Portland Observer
March 14, 1990
Jam Sessions:
The Tradition Lives On —
at Niecey's Restaurant & Lounge
by Dante C he
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Jam sessions in the inner N/NE Portland
have a long tradition. Dating back to the late
1950s and early 1960s, in such notable
nightspots, as the Cotton Club, Bess's and
Geneva’s. Jam sessions gave entertainers
like Ronnie Steen, Franky Redding and
Randy Smith a chance to exhibit their art
istry at an early age. This format also gave
audiences cost-free entertainment on Sun
days. Niecey’s, located at5700N.E. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Blvd., is presently continu
ing this tradition on Sundays from five until
closing.
Randy Starr is the host for the jam sessions,
utilizing his expertise and contacts in the
music industry to coordinate this time homved
form at
The following is an interview with Randy
who is also the bassist for Calvin Walker
and the Answer about Sunday jam sessions
at N iecey’s.
/
Richard Elliott,
former reed man with
theTower of Power horn section,
brings his soulfully--
charged saxophone to
Key Largo, Tuesday night,
March 20th.
B ehind -
T he -S cenes
presents
HOUSE PARTY VI
’FOR OUR CHILDREN’’
by Lisa Collins
Saturday, March 17, 1990
9 p.m. until Closing
Royal Esquire Club
1708 NE Alberta
W hitney H ouston to S tar In Film:
It's no secret that Whitney Houston has
been looking for a film property, and it now
appears she has it in a dramatic love story
opposite none other than Oscar nominee
Denzel Washington. You may have to wait
a while to see it though, as the film, titled
“ disappearing A cts,” is not slated for
production until this winter. Meanwhile
“ Cry Freedom,” the anti-apartheid film
that earned Denzel Washington his first
O scar nomination, has been slated for re-
release in South Africa. Original prints
were seized by south African authorities on
what would have been its opening day in
July of 1988.
In other film news, Ben Vereen has
been tapped to play the title role in
“ Bojangles,” a film bio of late, Black
dance great. Bill Robinson. Discussions are
underway for Debbie Allen to direct the
film, which will go into production in July.
However, Vereen is perhaps acting out his
latest drama in real life, upon the breakup of
a five-year relationship with Christine Rich.
Rich, reportedly scared for her life, was to
have filed assault and vandalism charges
against the entertainer, but will settle for a
permanent restraining order in a hearing set
this month.
They Cam e To P arty: Bobby Brown
was working overtime on the dance floor at
a surprise birthday party thrown for him at
a trendy Beverly Hills disco. (Hard to be
lieve he's just turned 21.) The party, planned
by his mom, truly came as a surprise to
Brown who was told that he was going to
the club to tape his acceptance of an upcom
ing People’s Choice Award. Among those
wishing him birthday greetings were Elton
John, New Edition's Johnny Gill and M i
chael Bivens, “ D ifferentW orld's” Dawnn
Lewis and Cree Summers, Shaunice Wilson,
The Boys, and Gary Coleman, who seemed
to have forgotten all his recent court troub
les as he danced his heart out all night long.
(By the way, official word from Cree
Summers, who is yet to sit down with me
due to a heavily burdened calendar, is that
she and actor Kadeem Hardison are
“ friends"). . . A star-studded crowd marked
the Los Angeles premiere of "House Party” -
a film from two brothers Reggie and W ar
rington Hudlin—that is earning great re
views from film critics. The film stars New
York-based rap unit “ Kid & Play,” Tisha
Campbell, A.J. Johnson, and actor-come
dian Robin Harris. The cast was joined by
E W F’s Maurice White, Eddie Murphy,
actresses Sheryl Lee Ralph and Ann Marie
Johnson, New Edition and Keenen Ivory
Wayans in their LA debut.
Ju st W ho Is C ourtney Vance? It’s a
question Paramount execs think many will
ask after viewing “ Hunt For Red Octo
b e r" . It is only the second film for Vance
who missed out on a plum role in “ Diehard,"
when "F en ces" producers would not let
him out o f his contract in the Tony Award
winning stage play. Still, some at Para
mount believe it’s only a matter of time
before Vance, who portrays a submarine
sonar operator in “ H unt," is a hot property.
M eanwhile, the young actor hopes the
exposure leads to more work. However,
Vance says the best part of being in the film
was meeting some to its heavyweight cast,
including Alec Baldwin, James Earl Jones,
and Sean Connery. "Ju st being in their
presence, you absorb so much," said Vance.
" A large part of being a good actor is being
a good listener. I ’m a very good listener. I
listen, learn, and wait--wait for my turn.”
S hort Takes: All of the Jackson clan
were in Miami for the opening of Janet's
solo world tour. Meanwhile, Jackson an
nounced after selling out four Los Angeles
dates (80,000 seats) in just 48 minutes, that
25 cents from every ticket sold during the
tour, beginning with the LA dates, will be
donated to a drop-out prevention program .
Donation: $3.06 (advance ticket purchase)
$3.56 (at the door)
Proceed* to Mariah Taylor, North Portland Nurse Practitio
ners Health Clinic and the College Book Scholarship Fund
YOUR HOSTS—Juanita Jones, Linda Sevier, Lilian Jones,
Jennifer Johnson, Carol Blakely, Delois Walters and Janice
Ingersoll-WILL PROVIDE COMPLIMENTARY HORS D'OEUVRES
J - ’. ’
1 -
31 N W FIRST
2 2 3 -9 9 1 9
- M ARC H -
Thursday, March 15th
Beauty Stab
with Red String
Friday & Saturday
March 16th & 17th
Curtis Salgado
& the Stillettos
Randy Starr
important.”
‘ ‘In Portland it is vital because politics play
such a big role, like downtown and other
clubs (outside inner N/NE Portland) around
town.”
P o rtland O bserver: “ So this gives them
an opportunity they ordinarily wouldn’t
have?”
R andy: “ T hat’s true.”
P ortland O bserver: “ What are the bene
fits for the audience at a jam session?”
Randy: First, there is no cover charge, the
security at Niecey’s is excellence, and that
makes for agood atmosphere; plus, the food
is excellence in the restaurant, and that’s
provided by Mike ‘C ’, and the service from
the waitresses is friendly and always with a
smile. And don't forget the music is great!!!”
Sunday, March 18th
Tragically Hip
Monday, March 19th
Cliche
Tuesday, March 20th
Richard Elliott
Wednesday, March 21
Big House
P ortland O bserver: "w hat local talents
have been showcased?"
Randy: “ Rusty Cox, from the Dazz Band...it
has been an honor to play with him ."
"H e plays perfect drum time. And in con
junction Donald Taylor from Club Dante -
he crushes man. Jimmie and Johnny Sand
ers, keyboardists. If these guys were not
playing the jam session, it wouldn’t attract
the audience the club gets. They (the Sand
ers brothers) are the best keyboardists around;
I mean with the likes of Chick Corea, Jeff
Lorber, and George Duke, they are up there
with the best. They are equally as good at
producing and song writing. Others who
have played at the jam sessions are Richard
Gates, guitarists with Force Major, which
just recently toured in Tokyo Japan.”
No HOUSE PARTY would be com plete without HOUSE RULES:
* You can t com« lookin' so cute you can't sweat, cus you gotta dance
* DANCE CARDS will be issued. There'll be a drawing from the completed cards.
* GRINDING will be permitted but as before it must be executed in a COUNTER
CLOCKWISE motionl Please practice before coming to the party.
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO
”A TOUCH OF CLASS"
PRE-EMPLOYMENT TRAINING CLASS
GRADUATION - PAGEANT
FRIDAY EVENING
MARCH 1 6 , 1 9 9 0
P o rtlan d O bserver: “ What do you see as
an opportunity in a jam session?”
Randy: First, it gives the musicians a chance
to unite, not like union but a way to get
together to create, where we can exchange
business cards, talk shop, mingle a play in
front of an audience. The audience is real
MAGO HUNT RECITAL HALL
UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND
7 :0 0 - 9 : 0 0 P .M .
AN E V E N IN G W IT H
U n ity o f Love
6 7 2 0 N .E . M a r t i n L u th e r K in g , Jr. B lv d .
283-5940
APPEARS
O N “A D IF F E R E N T W O R L D "
4
Hair Weeving Is The Thing For Everyone!!!
Some Like Cosmetic Weeve . . .
Others Might Need A Corrective Weeve ..
You May Just Want To Look Good!!!
If S o G i v e L O N N IE A C a l l
6 7 2 0 N .E . M a r t i n L u th e r K in g , J r., B lv d .
If W eeving Isn't Your Thing!
Let's Do W hat Ever Your H air Desires!
COMING MARCH 15TH
MUSIC MILLENNIUM’S
21 ST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
FREE REFRESHMENTS DAILY MARCH 15-18
(Refreshments Fri., March 16 Furnished Courtesy of A l t l t T A ).
Plus Daily Door Prizes and Live In Store Music at Millennium’s
SATURDAY* MARCH 24 - 8 PM
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
RESERVED SEATS
$13.50 & $15.50
(INCLUDES 50C CITY USER FEE)
(TICKETS SUBJECT TO SERVICE
CHARGE)
HYSTERICALLY FUNNY
-U S A TODAY
I LAUGHED TILL I CRIED
-CHICAGO TRIBUNE
PRODUCED BY ECI ANO ARTISTS CONSULTANTS
I
v i . ‘ / '‘-»¿Y’ • *♦£.
P o rtlan d O bserver: “ What came about to
get the jam sessions going?”
R andy: "C liche had played Saturday (the
night before) and Sunday I came to listen to
the jam session about 9:00 in the evening,
and there was no band. At that point master
M.C. (master of ceremony) Hank Kelly
asked me did I want to host the jam session.
O f course I had to give it some thought and
I told him I ’d get back with him. I decided
to give it a try. So the following Sunday I
started, opening at five o ’clock.
My first idea was to hire some key players,
that would attract other musicians. Musi
cians that would make other musicians feel
comfortable and make them feel they were
playing someone competitive. I also wanted
to bring in a quality state-of-the-art sound
system, light and stage show.”
e y LdRGd
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT G. I. JOE S
TICKETMASTER. PCPA. CIVIC
AUDITORIUM AND COLISEUM
BOX OFFICES. OR CHARGE BY
PHONE: PCPA 248-4496
Eastside Location Featuring;
M a r c h 1 5 th , T h u r s . 3 :0 0 P .M . D e lta D a n & B lu e s T r a d itio n
5 :0 0 P .M .
T h e D h a rm a B u m s
7 :0 0 P .M .
T h e T e r r a p ia a e s
M a r c h 1 8 th , S u n
TBA
A Recording Artiste)
3 :0 0 P .M .
M a r c h 2 3 r d , F ri.
6 :0 0 P .M .
David WilCOX (A4M Recording Artist)
LASI PORTLAND
32nd & E. BURNSIDE
231-8926
NW PORTLAND
23rd & NW JOHNSON
248-0163
M U S IC
M IL L E N N IU M
«M*